Max Verstappen won a chaotic Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, completing his strongest weekend of the season, while Lewis Hamilton produced a remarkable recovery to give Ferrari a podium after a disastrous start. Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished second and strengthened his championship position after Mercedes teammate George Russell suffered a late retirement, while Charles Leclerc recovered to fourth for the Maranello team.
The race will be remembered for a dramatic opening, heavy rain, repeated interruptions, changing tyre strategies and a frantic final phase. Ferrari initially appeared to have compromised its afternoon with the wrong tyre choice, but both drivers climbed back through the field, with Lewis Hamilton ultimately taking third and Charles Leclerc finishing immediately behind in fourth.
Heavy rain delays the Malaysian Grand Prix start
Formula 1 returned to racing in Malaysia after nine years, following a weekend in which the competitive order had never become completely clear. Max Verstappen had narrowly missed victory in Azerbaijan before securing his first pole position of the season at Sepang, taking advantage of strong Red Bull performance and putting himself in position to target his first victory of the year.
Nothing was straightforward, however. The rain that had been expected throughout the weekend arrived heavily on Sunday, marking the first wet running of this generation of Formula 1 cars. Strategy plans had to be completely reconsidered after Pirelli had originally anticipated a two-stop race in normal conditions.
The conditions became severe enough to delay the start, with large sections of the Malaysian circuit effectively undriveable while the rain continued to fall. The wider weekend information can be found in the Sepang Grand Prix schedule and circuit guide.
Software problem causes confusion during formation laps
At 15:40 local time, after around 40 minutes of waiting, the FIA finally gave the green light and the field prepared to start on intermediate tyres.
During the formation laps behind the Safety Car, Max Verstappen suffered an accelerator problem that slowed the field. After the Red Bull driver managed to restore normal operation, Lewis Hamilton then experienced the same issue in his Ferrari.
The Ferrari driver initially slowed the group before being forced to stop his car at the side of the track. A Haas and a Cadillac also encountered the same problem. After performing resets from their steering wheels, the affected drivers were able to continue.
The problem was linked to software management in the wet conditions and the unusually low speeds at which the cars were circulating. The confusion ultimately prompted the FIA to suspend the starting procedure, sending the cars back to the pit lane until further notice.
Ferrari slick gamble backfires at the start
More than an hour and a half after the original start time, the cars returned to the circuit. Conditions had changed significantly. The track remained damp, but several drivers opted for slick tyres.
Both Ferraris selected the Soft compound, while both McLarens initially went out on Mediums. Oscar Piastri then made a last-minute decision to switch back to intermediates, following the choice made by much of the field.
The start immediately became chaotic. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell reacted quickest and moved Mercedes into first and second, with Max Verstappen third. Liam Lawson followed in fourth ahead of Isack Hadjar.
Ferrari suffered badly. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both lost ground on a visibly damp track, while Charles Leclerc made contact with Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi and damaged his front wing. The Monegasque was forced to pit for repairs and switched to intermediate tyres.
Lewis Hamilton remained on slicks, but Charles Leclerc soon caught him again despite having already made his pit stop. By lap six, Max Verstappen had passed George Russell to move into second place.
Safety Car helps reset the race as Lewis Hamilton fights back
Max Verstappen attacked Andrea Kimi Antonelli on lap nine, but Valtteri Bottas went into the gravel further back and triggered a Safety Car. The interruption produced another rush of pit stops and dramatically reshuffled the strategic picture.
Mercedes fitted Medium tyres to both cars, while Red Bull chose Softs. Ferrari also switched both cars to Softs, although Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were now deep in the field. Racing Bulls placed both of its cars on the Hard compound.
The race resumed on lap 13, with Max Verstappen taking the lead and George Russell passing Andrea Kimi Antonelli for second. Max Verstappen then established a clearly stronger pace on the Soft tyre and built a gap over the Mercedes pair.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli subsequently showed stronger pace than George Russell and reclaimed second place, setting off once again in pursuit of the race leader.
Further back, Lewis Hamilton began rebuilding his race. The Ferrari driver moved into the points and continued climbing until reaching fifth place. The changing running order throughout the chaotic race can be followed through the F1 Race Position & Progression Tracker.
Lewis Hamilton puts fourth place under pressure
Charles Leclerc stopped again on lap 29 after recovering into the top ten, fitting another set of the softest compound. Arvid Lindblad stopped at around the same time for new Hard tyres, with Liam Lawson making the same choice.
Isack Hadjar switched to Softs, while Lewis Hamilton moved onto Medium tyres. The leading three drivers were the final contenders to stop and all selected Soft tyres.
Around ten seconds behind the top three, Lewis Hamilton began closing on Isack Hadjar. The Ferrari driver set the provisional fastest lap and put fourth place firmly within reach.
Tyre degradation was expected to become decisive in the closing stages. McLaren endured a relatively anonymous race, with Oscar Piastri only seventh at that stage behind Charles Leclerc, who had recovered to sixth but remained well behind his Ferrari teammate. Lando Norris was eighth, while Fernando Alonso had moved Aston Martin into the points.
The different compound choices and stint sequences were central to how the race developed, with the strategies available for comparison through the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis.
Late Safety Car reopens the Malaysian GP
Heading into the final quarter of the race, attention centred on the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar. The Briton had closed the gap to the Red Bull driver but was finding it more difficult than expected to complete the decisive overtake.
On lap 44, Alexander Albon suffered a gearbox problem and parked his Williams at the side of the circuit, triggering a Virtual Safety Car.
Max Verstappen immediately stopped and temporarily surrendered the lead while fitting a fresh set of Soft tyres. Mercedes responded on the following lap by stopping both Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell for new Softs, restoring the previous order.
Both Ferrari drivers also stopped, along with Isack Hadjar, the McLaren drivers and much of the remainder of the field. Difficulties removing Alexander Albon’s Williams then required a full Safety Car, reopening the contest with only a few kilometres remaining.
Max Verstappen wins as Lewis Hamilton completes Ferrari comeback
While the race was still under Safety Car conditions, George Russell suffered a power unit problem and was forced into a dramatic retirement. Lando Norris also made a mistake, running deep under braking at Turn 1 and dropping outside the points.
With only four laps remaining, racing resumed for a frantic finish. Max Verstappen executed the restart cleanly and retained the lead ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton completed his recovery by overtaking Isack Hadjar and moving into the podium positions. On the penultimate lap, Charles Leclerc also passed the Red Bull driver to take fourth place.
Max Verstappen crossed the line to win the Malaysian Grand Prix after an outstanding weekend. Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished second and gained 18 points on the retired George Russell in the championship battle.
Lewis Hamilton completed the podium in third after recovering from a race that had looked almost lost in the opening kilometres. Charles Leclerc’s fourth place further strengthened Ferrari’s recovery, turning an extremely difficult opening phase into a P3-P4 finish for the Scuderia.
Isack Hadjar finished fifth ahead of Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson. Fernando Alonso also scored points for Aston Martin, while Lando Norris and Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten. Ferrari’s recovery from its difficult start can also be viewed through the Ferrari Qualifying & Race Performance Statistics.
